Tommy Ramone, Last Of The Ramones, Dies At 65

Tommy Ramone, the last surviving member of seminal punk band The Ramones, died July 11 in Queens, New York, after struggling with bile duct cancer. He was 65.

While clad in black leather jackets, The Ramones would become the first New York punk band to release a major-label debut with 1976’s Ramones on Sire. The band wouldn’t experience commercial success, though thanks in part to songs like “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” they would help shape the rock to come, from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana and Green Day.

As co-founder and drummer, Tommy Ramone played a large part in why such songs, often clocking in at two minutes (if that) still hit hard today. “Tommy is the drummer whose pulsating playing launches the throbbing sound of the band,” an early one-sheet said of his style. Check out that must-see artifact and revisit the video for another Ramones classic, “I Wanna Be Sedated,” after the jump.